Apple is the world’s most powerful brand across the globe, commanding a great follower-ship and brand loyalty from technology enthusiasts. Over the years, Apple has stormed the smart device market with new and exciting smartphones from the iPhone4, Iphone5 series, iPhone6 series straight up to the recently released iPhone8 series and the iPhoneX.
In that same process of trying to satisfy the market with new innovations, Apple also went beyond the curtain of time trying to provide exciting next generation devices whose superior qualities can be seen in the latest iPhone8 Plus and the iPhone X.
What’s New in the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus?
The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus have new design and wireless charging aside, pretty iterative updates to the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. The iPhone 8 has a 4.7 inch display and the iPhone 8 Plus has a 5.5 inch display. Both have a faster A11 Bionic (yes, really) chip, Retina True Tone screens, and improved 12 MP camera sensors. The Plus keeps its two-camera setup and, with the new Portrait Lighting mode, looks pretty interesting for photographers.
The new design is the main talking point. With steel reinforced glass for the back and front, and aluminum for the sides, it should feel a lot like the iPhone 4 in your hand.
Wireless charging is also an interesting upgrade. Apple has gone with the open Qi standard, so the new phones will work with other companies’ wireless chargers.
Apple is also pushing pretty hard with augmented reality, and demoed a load of new features. While the 8 will almost certainly run them more smoothly, those features also should be available on older iPhones.
The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus will have a capacity of either 64GB or 256GB and start at $699.
What’s New in the iPhone X?
As expected, Apple has announced a new high end iPhone with a 5.8 inch Super Retina, HDR, True Tone OLED edge-to-edge display. It’s got a glass front and back, and the sides are made of stainless steel. The Home button—and with it, Touch ID—is gone. Instead, you just swipe up from the bottom to access the Home screen.
The display sounds like it’s going to be a thing of beauty. It’s got a resolution of 2436×1125 pixels and, combined with all its other features, should be one of the best looking smartphone displays ever.
With Touch ID gone, you unlock the iPhone X just by looking at it and swiping the screen up. Apple calls it Face ID. They claim it’s even more secure than Touch ID and works at all times regardless of the time of day or what you’re wearing. They claim it won’t be fooled by pictures, and can adjust to different hairstyles, glasses, and so on. FaceID did fail live on stage at the event, but it was unclear whether it actually failed or the phone just needed to be activated again with a PIN after a restart.
They also introduced a fun, new feature in Messages to go along with the new facial tracking features—Animojis. These are animated emojis that you control with your facial expressions.
The iPhone X has a capacity of 64GB to 256GB, and starts at $999. It’s not cheap, but if money is no object this is the most powerful iPhone you can buy.
Should You Upgrade to the iPhone 8?
Whether you should upgrade depends on which phone you currently have. Here’s what l think:
If You Have an iPhone 7
The iPhone 8 is a nice, but mostly iterative, update to the iPhone 7. It’s got a sweet new design and a faster processor, but for the most part, your user experience will be much the same. If you’ve got a contract that lets you upgrade yearly, it might be worth it to you. But for the majority of people, it’s probably not worth upgrading. If you want the latest and greatest, get the iPhone X
